Spoilers 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' series [Spoiler Discussion]

[Jedi Marso]

Why would the prequel trilogy need an edit?

Heh. Why would you argue that it wouldn't?

Both the fan edits I listed above took a train wreck trilogy and went a long way toward making enjoyable, watchable and re-watchable movies out of them.

I'll never forget when myself and a bunch of squadron mates made an event out of it and went to see The Phantom Menace on opening night. I mean, it's hard to find a bigger bunch of hard core SW nerds than a pack of naval aviators. The looks of dumbfounded, utter disappointment, disbelief, and let-down when the movie ended were a serious bummer.

 

[thribs]

I don’t mind the prequels. If anything I feel that episode III needed to be longer.
The only SW film I don’t like is TLJ. Screw that movie.

 

[fireproof78]

The looks of dumbfounded, utter disappointment, disbelief, and let-down when the movie ended were a serious bummer.

It was painful.

I don't revisit it.

 

[jackoverfull]

Was that Andywan who did that one? Shoot I can't remember who did it but I know there was one fairly well regarded.

no idea.

Why would the prequel trilogy need an edit?

A lot of stuff (basically almost everything in episode 1 and plenty from the others) is deemed superfluous by some. Personally I found most of the movies (except a good portion of the second half of the third) unwatchable.

 

[fireproof78]

no idea.

A lot of stuff (basically almost everything in episode 1 and plenty from the others) is deemed superfluous by some. Personally I found most of the movies (except a good portion of the second half of the third) unwatchable.

I do not enjoy the third one. I think it largely overblown as well as both overlong and rushing through things. I probably enjoy the second one the most, but that's largely because I like the mystery plot.

However, I do love both the Episode 1 books, and Episode 3 novel. Those might be worth the price of admission.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

I know Obi-Wan Kenobi series wasn't exactly as important to many of us, as we knew where things would end up, that Kenobi and Leia would survive and that Reva won't do anything to hurt Luke permanently. Not that stakes are critical to a story, but it didn't seem to add the amount of value we expected from it (it was still good, some part give me chills).

But if one who has never seen Star Wars, and is free from major spoilers, were to watch the Skywalker saga in the chronological order of I, II, III, Obi-Wan Kenobi, (maybe Rogue One), IV, V, VI, then the whole outlook on it would change. Catching up with Luke and Leia when they're 10 and you don't know what is to happen must be quite something, and young Leia sets you up so well for what Leia is in the original trilogy that it's just incredible.

I kept thinking about this recently because I began Star Wars with Episode I in the theatres, and only saw IV, V, and VI after it because I was extremely impatient to see more Star Wars before the release of Episode II.

Had I not done that, and had not the old people in the cinema spoiled it by chattering “the kid becomes Vader when he grows up”, Episode III would have been even more shattering to me than it already was. Not everyone is so old to have seen the old ones, old man. I don't think even Lucas expected only return viewers to be coming back to it, or he would have made the foreshadowing that hinted at the shape of things to come in more obvious fashion. The only things the prequels truly spoil for the original trilogy is Luke's parentage (so one surprise reveal less), and looks of Yoda (thanks Baby Yoda for trending so much recently), and Leia's reveal (which was more or less awkward retcon). The other way round, it spoils everything.

Now a new viewer can even add Kenobi to the sage if they went that way, and casually reviewing what happened it it, it is quite something. I even think my lukewarm response to it when watching has been entirely due to being “spoiled”, for the lack of better word. I even dug a bit on Youtube to find if anyone has watched them that way, and although this is something very hard to look for, it would seem the series worked as I expected it would.

 

[Reverend]

I don't think even Lucas expected only return viewers to be coming back to it, or he would have made the foreshadowing that hinted at the shape of things to come in more obvious fashion.

Pretty sure he's on record saying he explicitly did not make the prequels for the older existing fans, but aimed it squarely at the younger demographic (aka: the same demo Star Wars has always been for, first and foremost.) That's why for example in the PT, the duel identities of Palpatine and Darth Sidious is played straight; never mind the fact those of us the grew up with the original movies, tie-in merch & media already knew him as "Emperor Palpatine". From what I gather, at least some of those that were of an age at the time and weren't spoiled on the twist, were genuinely shocked. So it seemed to work as intended.

That narrative non-linearity is a fairly unique quirk of Star Wars in general and not just 'Kenobi'. It almost doesn't matter what order you watch any of it in, since if it's been constructed right, anything can act as a good entry point, and tell a complete story in and of itself.
The real test of that of course will be 'Ahsoka', since there going to be a whole swath of the audience that (despite urgent entreaties from any hardcore Star Wars fans in their life) have not seen anything of 'Rebels'. I'm confident Dave can pull off that non-trivial balancing act, but I'll still be curious to see how he does it.

 

[Set Harth]

recap.

 

[Tuskin38]

I remember learning Palpatine's name pre-dated TPM (well re-learning, I had forgotten I guess) after seeing TPM and re-reading a ROTJ book I owned that actually called him Emperor Palpatine.

 

[Set Harth]

Yeah, that goes all the way back to the ANH novelization.

 

[cooleddie74]

And a comic strip series published around the time of ESB referred to the ruler on the Imperial central planet as "the Emperor Palpatine."

 

[Reverend]

The name 'Senator Palpatine' has been out in the wild since before the first movie even premiered, as it was mentioned in the opening preamble for the novelization. Not sure where I first ran across it. Could have been a storybook version of RotJ, could have been from one of the mid-90's video games, could have been from the Zahn novels. Point being, it wasn't by any means an obscure bit of lore prior to '99.

 

[Ithekro]

Palpatine? Known the name for ages. Don't remember the first time I read it though. Maybe a novel, maybe the old West End Games Star Wars Sourcebook. Maybe even a magazine from around Return of the Jedi's release.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

I don't think even Lucas expected only return viewers to be coming back to it, or he would have made the foreshadowing that hinted at the shape of things to come in more obvious fashion.

Lucas tripped himself up by creating the PT in the first place because was he dealing with two generations worth of moviegoers familiar with the near-universally known OT--a series with characters and events that had become well-ingrained in pop culture across many demographics. Additionally, he used the 1997 Special Editions not only to continue testing CG tech for then then-forthcoming prequels, but to recapture those two generations of fans who saw the films during their theatrical releases (and frequent re-releases), so he had a high expectation that those millions of fans would return to see more Star Wars, which he promised at a Star Wars 10th anniversary convention held in 1987.

There was no doubt a great number of the PT's audience would be comprised of those already familiar with, or were hard core SW fans who knew the story inside and out, so quite obviously, they were never going to be able to forget the key revelations and relationships of the OT just to see the PT in some fresh way. Ever the problem with any prequel film or TV series that does not retcon everything to death.

 

[Ithekro]

Today there are kids that grow up with the prequels and Clone Wars that don't see the OT until later. I am told those that develop an attachment to Anakin via the Clone Wars are especially heartbroken with Revenge of the Sith. Not sure how that audience reacts to Darth Vader stepping onto the Tantive IV.

 

[Reverend]

Today there are kids that grow up with the prequels and Clone Wars that don't see the OT until later. I am told those that develop an attachment to Anakin via the Clone Wars are especially heartbroken with Revenge of the Sith. Not sure how that audience reacts to Darth Vader stepping onto the Tantive IV.

I'm reasonably sure you can look on youtube and find any number of examples of just that if one is so inclined, though at a guess I should think the reaction is one of horror . . . which I suspect is the intended result.

Having said that; the reason the official story switched from "Stormtroopers include clones and conscripts" to "Stormtroopers are just conscripts" is because Lucas noticed kids that got into Star Wars watching Clone Wars, then watched the OT were horrified seeing the clones be bad guys alongside Vader. So I guess he's selective on what he's willing to upset kids over. Which is fair enough, considering Anakin's story has an underlying moral lesson to it; whereas brainwashed clones is just cruel.

 

[Tuskin38]

I know now that Palpatine's name had been around for a while now, but I was born in '91, so that kind of detail if I had read it before seeing TPM would probably have slipped my mind. I was too busy wowing at the space battles and visuals.

I've mentioned this before, but there were people on the internet that refused to believe Palpatine and the Emperor were the same person up until Revenge of the Sith. There was this clone/doppelganger or something fan theory going around because they thought it would either be impossible for the Jedi to miss a Sith Lord controlling the the senate or that the real Palpatine would be too busy to do both roles.

 

[Set Harth]

I've mentioned this before, but there were people on the internet that refused to believe Palpatine and the Emperor were the same person up until Revenge of the Sith.

What I remember is the people who stubbornly insisted Palpatine and Sidious were different people. Unless that's the same thing you mean.
It was a pretty epic display of being in denial. Especially since TPM kind of hit you over the head with the deal. "But which was destroyed, the master or the apprentice?" And then the camera immediately pans over to Palpatine. COME ON MAN

 

[fireproof78]

If people didn't figure it out it was for lack of trying on Lucasfilm's part, though even one of my uncles thought they were different.

But, the action figure for Emperor Palpatine had a "Sneak Preview" for Episode 1 showing "Senator Palpatine." I trust you see the connection.

 

[Reverend]

OK, I think we've drifted off the point of what I was saying. I didn't say that people could or could not figure out the whole Palpatine/Sidious of it all; I was saying that Lucas didn't care. The info was out there for those that knew, but it wasn't relevant. He consistently played it straight, maintaining the dramatic mystery right up until RotS, because the movies weren't for existing fans, they were for new fans. Both for those who were 8 years old at the time, and those that would discover it later and watch all six movies in chronological order. He was more concerned with preserving the narrative structure of the whole piece than appealing to a small section of the audience. As a result of that coherence: his movies have stood the test of time, while the ST is already starting to feel weirdly dated.

Bringing it back to Kenobi; say what you will about some of the technical limitations that it ran up against, they still did a good job of directly bridging the two trilogies in terms of style and tone. It has both that sense of grand melodrama of the PT, and the feisty scrappiness of the OT. So again; points for coherence.